ESL Site Awards

Are you tired of searching for quality ESL learning websites? Let EnglishClub do the work for you! EnglishClub routinely searches the ESL web and recommends special sites that we think are valuable for learners. The sites we choose are updated regularly and offer useful resources, lessons and activities to enhance your learning program in a variety of ways.

The English Student is a fun site for visual learners. ESL tutor Jenny combines her love of teaching with her love of illustration. She creates attractive visual aids for English language learners, and makes it fun to learn new words and phrases. She also writes useful blog posts in easy English. Jenny thinks of interesting words and phrases that you may not encounter in other learning materials. For example, she created a poster of condiments, so that you can learn words like mustard and soy sauce. Teachers may also be interested in printing Jenny’s posters for their classroom walls, or sharing Jenny’s visuals on social media networks. Be sure to review the copyright rules when using these resources.

Daily Step English is a site for English language learners that features Audio English lessons. It is produced by Jane Lawson, an experienced English language teacher based out of London, England. The audio lessons are available in five different levels, from beginner to advanced. The audio is available in British English and American English. Read on »

If you’ve been thinking about learning English in a foreign country, the Language Learning Portal may be a good place to start. You can use this site to search for courses all over the world. Filter your search by language, level, intensity, duration and group size. You can also search for language learning opportunities in your own country. Read on »

LingEngPark offers a large variety of audio materials for English learners. The site will save you from searching online for self-study resources. You will find a collection of podcasts, audiobooks, videos, films, and transcripts. Some of the listening materials are authentic (not designed for English learners), while others were created specifically for English learners. The resources are indexed in a variety of ways to make it easy for you to find appropriate listening materials based on your interest or level. Incorporate daily listening practice into your self-study routine by finding a new podcast or radio show that you enjoy. Read on »

The Phronitistery is a website full of language resources and word lists for English language enthusiasts and writers. At the “thinking place” you can study word origins, root words, suffixes and prefixes – all useful ways of improving your understanding of the English language. If you enjoy writing in English, the site will help you find useful words through a variety of Read on »

Learn English With Audio is a simple site that is useful for beginners who are learning English vocabulary. Vocabulary is presented in a variety of categories. Some categories offer audio and translation, while others include video flashcards (with audio). Read on »

ReadItEnglish is a free site for English learners who want to develop their reading skills through authentic texts. In the first session, learners respond to several multiple choice (gap-fill style) vocabulary questions. ReadItEnglish analyses the results and determines an appropriate reading level. Each time the user logs in, ReadItEnglish recommends a few articles. Read on »

World Wide Words is a website for language lovers. The site is maintained by Michael Quinion, a British English etymologist (one who studies the history of words) and writer. The site contains over 2000 entries on the origins of English words and phrases, including new words, words from the news, and words that have Read on »

Happy English is a free podcast for English learners. English teacher Michael offers a variety of useful tips and lessons for English learners in his short audio clips. These lessons are in American English. Michael’s clear spoken voice and fun sound effects will keep you interested and awake while you learn English. You can find the podcasts on the Happy English blog or on iTunes. Read on »

This site offers a useful way for visual learners to understand the structure of the English language. Each grammar point includes a short introduction, followed by a visual mind map. After learning the grammar visually, learners can try simple games and quizzes to review the language point. The graphics are categorized by level or subject. Read on »

The Naked Scientists is a science podcast and Q and A radio show developed by a team of scientists and researchers from the University of Cambridge. High-intermediate and advanced learners will enjoy listening and following along with the podcasts and interviews. Creator Dr. Smith says that the goal of his team is to “help people enjoy science as much as we do and, at the same time, to have fun.” The reason they call themselves the “naked scientists” is because they try to strip down science to the bare essentials in order to make it understandable to the general public. Read on »

English with a Twist is a blog about learning the English language. Blogger Shanthi, a freelance English language teacher, writes reader-friendly articles that are useful for English language learners and teachers. English learners who want to expand their vocabulary will find this blog fun and educational. Read on »

Elemental English is a free site for English learners. It provides practical conversation lessons in American English. The site offers podcasts, videos, blog posts, grammar tips, and discussion questions related to language learning and American culture. Read on »

Games To Learn English is a flash-based site full of free grammar and vocabulary review games that you can play on your computer at home or in the classroom. The games test your speed, memory, and understanding of basic English. Each game comes with a short explanation by the game maker himself. Owen is an English language teacher working in China who enjoys making games in his spare time. The games are fairly self-explanatory. Some of the games, such as the Spelling Bee include an audio component. Read on »

The Grammar YUNiversity blog is full of cartoons and graphics for visual learners. It was created by an English major in California who was bothered by the fact that most grammar explanations on the Internet were long and boring. The grammar guru enlisted the help of some of his friends to respond to common grammar questions with entertaining explanations and graphics: “This blog exists so that you can actually have fun learning about grammar and vocabulary while also laughing at charts, photos, and other non-educational stuff.” Read on »

On his Doing English website, Julian explains that he is an experienced English language teacher and researcher who is interested in helping learners who are “serious” about English. Doing English offers free lessons and tips for English learners via email and video. Many of Julian’s tips are motivational. He also recommends courses and materials that he thinks are useful. Read on »

If you enjoy using online dictionaries, check out Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary. This dictionary (also available in app form) is designed specifically for English learners. Search for a word that you want to look up, or learn the Word of the Day. You will also find 3000 entries for the most commonly used words in spoken English. If you register with your email address, you can create your own online dictionary to collect all of the words that you have learned. This dictionary features American pronunciation and spelling. Read on »

The goal of Tweet Speak English is to help English learners understand and begin using everyday English. English language teachers Nate Hill and Jason Smith dissect tweets that they find on twitter. “We only use tweets because people tweet how they speak, and that means it’s a good way to learn natural phrases that people are using every day.” Read on »

Simple English Videos is a site by English language teacher and author Vicki Hollett. On this site, you’ll find excellent language learning videos that Vicki made herself, as well as other short movie trailers and videos that can help you learn English. The videos are categorized by genre. Each video comes with a handy clickable transcript that you can follow along with as you watch. Read on »

Myovient is a website provided by English language teaching professionals of Ovient, Inc in California. The site provides materials for business professionals who want to increase their English language proficiency. It specializes in American accent training and has plenty of free materials to help you with your pronunciation. Read on »

Jason Levine, also known as Fluency MC, makes songs and videos for learning English (and other subjects). “Jase” believes in teaching language in chunks. These language chunks are also called “collocations”. He wants English learners to become familiar with the words that “sounds right” together. He uses the short form “collos” to refer to “collocations”. His music and games offer repetitive input that can help you learn English. Read on »

EngVid is a website full of videos for English learners. You will find videos on common grammar mistakes as well as tips for using slang, phrasal verbs, and other common expressions. There are also videos that provide useful tips for students taking standardized tests like IELTS, TOEIC, and TOEFL. The videos are made by English teachers and are categorized by level (beginner, intermediate, advanced) and topic. You can also choose videos by your favourite engVid teacher. Read on »

Just the Word is a tool that can help you choose the right words and phrases in English. It can also help you correct your writing mistakes. It is a combination of dictionary and thesaurus, and is very useful for learning collocations. Collocations are pairings or groups of words that are commonly found together. To test out Just the Word, go to the search box on the home page and type in a word such as “life”. Then hit Return on your keyboard. Look through the results that come up. The clusters show words that are related in meaning. The unclustered words are not closely related to each other. Click on the links to review example sentences. Read on »

English Leap is a website for English learners based out of New Delhi, India. You can use some of the resources on the site for free, including video lessons, learning tips, vocabulary lists, and explanations about common mistakes in English. If you like what you find on English Leap, you can register and create an online profile. When you sign up you can take the assessment test. The assessment test has a section for grammar and a section for vocabulary. Other quizzes are available on the site. Read on »

Two Minute English is a new YouTube channel featuring everyday American English conversations. The English speakers use simple, clear English that you would hear in a variety of situations. You will find useful topics, such as shopping for groceries and going to the gym. You will also find conversations that feature functional English, such as how to express likes and dislikes. A variety of male and female speakers are used. Read on »

Are you looking for free English listening practice? ESL Fast has hundreds of English stories and conversations to listen to. The audio files also have transcripts so that you can read along as you listen. Many of the speakers in the recordings speak slower than natural English speakers, so the recordings are ideal for beginners and low-level learners. If you find that the site has too many ads but you want to keep listening, you can pay for a subscription. You can also try interacting with the ESL Robot. Chat with the robot and he will reply to your questions. Read on »

Mister Duncan is an expressive English teacher who teaches English through his YouTube channel. He speaks British English naturally and clearly, and his videos are useful for listening practice. You can listen to more than 70 videos chronologically, or browse through the index to choose videos that interest you. The lessons include captions so that you can follow along. Read on »

English Grammar Secrets is a very basic site for learning and practising English grammar on your own. The index of lessons and exercises includes many of the grammar points teachers cover in class. After you review the grammar, you will get a chance to do several interactive exercises to prove to yourself that you understand what you learned. Read on »

If you’re preparing for a standardized test such as TOEIC, TOEFL, or IELTS, be sure to check out Jason Renshaw’s Internet School of English. When teachers are asked for a good online resource for test preparation practice, this is often the first one that comes to mind. On this site you will find video tutorials, practice tests, and sample responses. Read on »

The Goodwill Community Foundation’s Learn Free website offers practical online lessons for everyday living. The site includes interactive audio lessons, such as using the bank machine, paying with a debit card, and reading a subway map. There are also lessons on computer and career skills. Read on »

Tiny Texts in English offers free listening and reading materials for English learners based on interesting news stories that may not make the headlines. Each entry includes a short reading with an audio file and glossary. The recordings are provided by an English teacher with a Scottish accent. Read on »

ESLPod is full of English listening materials that are free for English learners and teachers. Two American professors who specialize in ESL run the site and record the podcasts. The dialogues in the podcasts use everyday English at a pace that is quite a bit slower than natural. The language and scenarios are explained in easy English following each dialogue. Topics range from travel and business to small talk and relationships. Serious learners who want more than listening practice can subscribe to ESLPod for a monthly fee. Read on »

Interactives Spelling Bee is a site from Learner.org that is extremely useful for English learners who want to improve their listening skills. You will need to experiment a bit to find the appropriate level of activity since these cloze exercises are actually designed as grade school spelling tests. The Grade 1 level is suitable for English beginners, and the Grade 11-12 exercises are useful for advanced learners. Just like EnglishClub’s Weekly News pages, you have to listen to the audio and type in the missing words. Read on »

Jennifer is an online English teacher who has been uploading lessons to YouTube as JenniferESL since 2007. Jennifer has recorded pronunciation lessons, grammar lessons, vocabulary lessons, and mini-lessons on holidays and customs. You can also catch Jennifer on EnglishCafe’s Jim and Jen show, also available on YouTube. Her lessons are popular because she is a good teacher with a clear voice, and she understands the difficulties that ESL students have. Read on »

If you enjoy learning English through music, try uWall. This is an alternative to YouTube, and can be useful for language practice. Discover new music genres by choosing from a variety of categories or photos. You can also choose music based on your mood. A single click will take you to a playlist of music that you can listen to for free. Choose “lyrics” to watch videos with lyrics. Read on »